All-Northeast Conference (NEC) Teams and Player Awards

Somerset, NJ – For the second year in a row Quinnipiac senior midfielder Marissa Caroleo (North Babylon, NY/North Babylon) was selected as Northeast Conference (NEC) Women's Lacrosse Player of the Year in a vote by the league head coaches. Caroleo's teammate Devon Gibney (Hopkinton, MA/Hopkinton), a senior midfielder,collected NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Bobcat freshman Kyra Ochwat (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) was named NEC Rookie of the Year. Central Connecticut senior goalkeeper Erin DeLancey (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) was tabbed at the NEC Goalkeeper of the Year. While the Blue Devil's first-year head coach Kelly Nangle was voted NEC Coach of the Year by her peers. [The full list of teams/awards can be found at the end of this post.]

On the eve of the NEC Women's Lacrosse Tournament, the awards were announced at a banquet held at the Trumbull Marriot in Fairfield, CT the campus of host Sacred Heart. In Friday's semifinals, the top-seeded Pioneers take on #4 seed Mount St. Mary's at 1:00 pm. The second game will feature #2 seed Quinnipiac and #3 seed Monmouth at 3:30 pm. The championship game is slated for Sunday, April 29 at 1:00 pm. The winner of the NEC championship will take on the Colonial Athletic League tournament champion in an NCAA tournament play-in game on a date to be determined.

Carleo, a senior, caps off her prolific NEC career with her third career major award after she earned NEC Rookie of the Year honors in 2009 and NEC Player of the Year honors in 2011. A two-time first team All-Conference member, Caroleo led the Bobcats in goals (45) this spring, recorded a point in every game this season and multiple points in 14 of 15 games. Her 3.00 goals-per-game ranks second in the conference and she an integral part of an offensive unit which lead the league in points-per game (18.93). Caroleo has also been a threat on the draw as she sits second on the team with 34 draw controls while her 16 ground balls ranks fourth on the team. The New York native has also shown her defensive prowess by tallying 12 caused turnovers.

Gibney, a midfielder and 2011 NEC Tournament MVP, collects the first major award of her career after a regular season in which she proved to be a threat at both ends of the field. The Hopkinton, MA native was second in the in draw controls (54), while her ground balls (27), caused turnovers (19) were first on the team. Gibney also registered a point in 14 of 15 games this season to finish the regular season with 30 points. Her draw controls rank second in the conference and is a part of a defensive which leads the league in caused turnovers per game (10.80). This also marks the third consecutive year Gibney has earned a spot on the NEC All-Conference first team.

Rounding out list of major award winners from Quinnipiac, Ochwat ranks first among the league's freshman in goals (31) and points (38), has registered a point in all but one game for the Bobcat's this season, putting up multiple points in 10 of 15. The New York product has posted 2.07 goals per game which ranks tenth in the conference while her two game winners rank third. Ochwat has been named NEC Rookie of the week three times this season and also earns a spot on the NEC All-Rookie team.

Central Connecticut's DeLancey earns her first career major award and first career All-Conference nod after posting the league's best goals against average (9.90) and second best save percentage (.480); a mark which currently ranks her 12th nationally. DeLancey proved to be the backbone of a defense which tallied seven wins, five of which came during conference play to set a new program record for in conference victories. The Saratoga Springs, New York native collected NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors on three separate occasions during the season after posting weekly save averages above the .500 mark. She finished the year ranked second on the team in ground balls (27) and also posted two caused turnovers in her senior campaign.